That Time the Civil War Came Back to New Orleans

After church on Sunday, May 7, my friend Sarah, my sister Katie, and I were sitting in Jackson Square Park, enjoying the sunshine and waiting for Katie's friend to join us for brunch. Suddenly,  the NOPD came through and hustled everyone out of the park without explanation. They then chained shut the park gates and, uh, leaned against the fence and casually watched a street magician performing.

This turned out to be a crowd-control measure because of the protests going on in New Orleans. You might have heard about them if you read the New York Times. 

To sum up: Over the past century and a quarter, New Orleans has erected statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.T. Beauregard, as well as an obelisk memorializing the time white supremacists revolted against Reconstruction and lost. Recently, New Orleans city government started removing these monuments, starting with the obelisk. This created major backlash from pro-Confederate Louisianians, who inexplicably still exist, and white supremacists, who are depressingly outspoken nowadays. (I will refer to this group collectively as "out-of-touch jerks.")

On Sunday, there was a "Take 'Em Out" march through the French Quarter to Lee Circle, where a crowd of out-of-touch jerks was counter-protesting around the Robert E. Lee statue. Because this is Louisiana, some of the out-of-touch jerks were armed. The police were concerned that matters could easily get out of hand, and were taking no chances. Hence, the sudden closure of Jackson Square Park.

My sister and I had several reactions to this, in more or less the following order: 

1. Huh. 
2. Oh my God, they're armed?
3. Should we get out of here?
4. Maybe let's just eat brunch and then regroup. (Side note, there was a jazz trio playing live music at brunch.)
5. Wait, but it's 2017 and the Civil War is apparently not over.
6. OK, well, let's avoid Lee Circle today.

We've discussed it at length since, and the truth is that we can see both sides of the free-speech issue here. Yet we both still side with the removal, for several reasons.

First of all, the statues are offensive. That is not up for debate. New Orleans is 60% African-American, and statues honoring pro-slavery heroes are an incredibly painful sight for some residents. Those statues are part of history, but as the mayor  has said, they belong in a museum.

Indiana Jones, backing up Mayor Mitch Landrieu on this one.

Second: It makes no sense to put up giant monuments for failed rebels. Because that's what the Confederacy was: a failed rebellion. Its armies were defeated. Its cities were burned. Its President was captured and charged with treason.

Is the penalty for treason "casting in bronze"?!

Pictured: A statue of Jefferson Davis, a traitor.

Furthermore, none of the people whose statues were being defended by out-of-touch jerks actually did anything for New Orleans.

Unlike, for example, President Andrew Jackson. The "Take 'Em Out" march did pass through Jackson Square, and chant "We won't get no satisfaction till they take down Andrew Jackson." They have a good point: Andrew Jackson was responsible for parts of the American Indian genocide. On the other hand, he once saved New Orleans from 14,450 British soldiers with only 4,732 allies. In January 1815, the British army was well on its way to defeating Napoleon. New Orleans had only belonged to the US for a decade, most of its residents still spoke only Spanish or French, and the bayous south of the city were infested with pirates. It was pretty clear that the British were going to overrun the American lines, seize New Orleans, and probably burn it to the ground. So, when Andrew Jackson allied with those pirates and the Choctaw Indians, hired interpreters, marshaled his troops, and curb-stomped the British, that was pretty awesome. In fact, the Ursuline convent in the city decided that his victory was a miracle achieved through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, and they've held anniversary vigils in her chapel for 200 years.

So yeah, the city of New Orleans put up a statue for Andrew Jackson.

Now, let's look at what the heroes of the Confederacy did for New Orleans. (Thanks to Wikipedia, we can do that easily.)

1. Jefferson Davis

A native of Kentucky, this Senator from Mississippi was elected Provisional Confederate President in 1861. He was pretty awful at the job. He failed to find any foreign allies. The Confederacy's economy collapsed under his leadership, and inability to feed or pay soldiers contributed to the military defeat of the Confederacy. Wikipedia also cites his "preoccupation with detail, reluctance to delegate responsibility, lack of popular appeal, feuds with powerful state governors and generals, favoritism toward old friends, inability to get along with people who disagreed with him, neglect of civil matters in favor of military ones, and resistance to public opinion" as reasons why he was a bad leader for the treasonous Confederate States of America. 

Later on, he got sick and died while visiting New Orleans.

2. P.GT. Beauregard

This man was born 20 miles away from New Orleans, and served with distinction in the US Army. In 1861, he betrayed his country and became a general in the Confederate Army. In January 1861, he advised New Orleans on how to fortify Forts St. Philip and Jackson, which protected the city from attacks coming up the Mississippi River. Both forts, and the city, fell to the Union Navy a year later. Beauregard also made questionable military decisions at the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth, and was relieved of his command after going on unauthorized leave. 

To be fair, after the war was over and he'd been pardoned, he was active in a party that advocated for voting rights for freed slaves. Of course, that was because he was hoping that freed slaves would help him vote out the Reconstruction government.

3. Robert E. Lee

This Virginian passed through New Orleans briefly while he was a US Army Officer. Later on, he betrayed his country and led the armies of the Confederate traitors.

Based on that poor showing, I assert that none of these men should have a monument in 2017. In fact, none of them deserved a monument in the first place. And, even though I know it won't fix everything that's wrong with how this country remembers the Confederacy, I am happy to know that the last statue came down on May 19.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis has been asking Our Lady of Prompt Succor to pray for racial harmony in New Orleans. Katie, Sarah, and I shared in that prayer with them, right before we got evacuated from Jackson Square Park because of the Civil War.